IF / News

Huawei was first included in the United States’ export control list in 2019, but several companies including Qualcomm were allowed to export certain 4G chips to it after obtaining exemptions from Washington. Before being blacklisted from trade, Huawei had been a key customer for Qualcomm chips. However, the US export ban forced Huawei to adopt more internal chip solutions, helped its chip business make progress in China, and challenged Qualcomm’s market share. However, Qualcomm still licenses its 5G technology to Huawei. The two companies signed a patent licensing agreement in 2020 after a long legal dispute. The agreement is about to expire, and Qualcomm said it is still in negotiations with Huawei. Qualcomm will continue to negotiate with Huawei, according to Alex Rogers, president of the company’s licensing segment. (CN Beta, SCMP, Asia Nikkei)

TSMC’s fan-out (InFO) packaging process will no longer be exclusively used by Apple. Google’s self-developed Tensor chips will allegedly switch to TSMC’s 3nm process in 2025 and will also start using InFO packaging. TSMC developed InFO packaging based on FOWLP (fan-out wafer-level packaging), which gained prominence after being adopted by the A10 processor in the iPhone 7 in 2016. TSMC indicated that the current InFO_PoP technology has advanced to its ninth generation. In 2023, it successfully certified 3nm chips, achieving higher efficiency and lower power consumption for mobile devices. The InFO_PoP technology, which features a backside redistribution layer (RDL), has entered mass production in 2024. Tensor G4 chips, to be announced within 2024, use Samsung’s FOPLP (fan-out panel-level packaging). Although wafer-level packaging (WLP) is generally considered to have advantages over panel-level packaging (PLP), FOWLP still prevails at this stage due to yield and cost considerations. (CN Beta, TrendForce, CTEE, WCCFTech)

Nvidia has allegedly discovered “design flaws” in its upcoming series of AI chips that may push their release back at least 3 months. The company has reportedly started notifying customers of the delay, including Microsoft. Large orders of the new Blackwell chips were initially slated to start shipping sometime in 2024, but they are now not expected until early 2025. Nvidia announced the Blackwell series chips back in Mar 2024, touting performance boosts of up to 30 times what is achieved by its flagship H100, which serves as the backbone for some of today’s biggest AI systems. (Engadget, The Information)

Huawei MatePad Pro 12.2 allegedly uses a double-layer OLED display. With the new display technology, the top-end tablet will feature a peak brightness of 2000 nits. This will also boost the overall PWM dimming rate. Double-layer OLED panel is a high-end display solution. It holds two tandem OLED layers overlapping each other to form a single consistent screen for a device. Unlike a single-layer OLED, the double-layer solution is more durable. It increases the screen brightness as well as the tablet’s lifespan. The technology further reduces the power consumption by 30%. BOE is currently supplying double-layer OLEDs in China. Honor has already approached the supplier for its new tech and imposed it into the Magic 6 Ultimate Edition and the RSR Porsche Design. (CN Beta, Notebook Check, Huawei Central, Sohu)

Xiaomi is allegedly developing a tri-foldable phone. The rumoured Xiaomi device could be part of the Mix lineup. With both Huawei and Samsung exploring this technology, it makes perfect sense for Xiaomi to be deep in development of a similar product. (Android Central, Phone Arena, Weibo)

Samsung has confirmed that it is working on a “double-foldable” phone. Chung Yi, the Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Business Mobile / IT Display at Samsung, said that Samsung is developing multiple form factors to meet smartphone needs in the AI era. The Samsung Display VP has disclosed that the company is working on technologies that provide a large screen while being easy to carry. They are developing various form factor products, such as double-folding multi-foldables and rollables. (Android Headlines, Phone Arena, IMID)

Richard Yu, Huawei’s CEO of consumer business division, has confirmed that the company’s tri-fold smartphone is going to be launched in Sept 2024. The tri-fold phone is codenamed “Iceland”, which could use the “Mate” name in the prefix for its commercial release. The thickness is still well controlled when folded, which is much thinner and lighter than expected. And the screen size of the phone after unfolding is much larger than that of conventional foldable screen phones, and the size is about 10”. (Android Headlines, My Drivers, India Times, Yahoo, Huawei Central)

Tecno has officially revealed the Phantom V Fold2 and Phantom V Flip2 designs. The Tecno Phantom V Fold2 has three rear cameras, while the Phantom V Flip2 has two. The cover display on the Phantom V Fold2 also has a centered display camera hole. A stylus pen is shown here too. The second-gen Phantom V Flip has a larger cover display. The MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ is expected to fuel the ‘Fold’. The MediaTek Dimensity 8050 will likely fuel the ‘Flip’ phone from Tecno.(Android Headlines, Twitter)

According to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, LG Display (LGD) will be Apple’s exclusive supplier of foldable MacBook panels. In addition to 20.25”, Apple is also considering whether to replace it with 18.8”. The difference between these two sizes is that when folded in half, they are approximately equivalent to the appearance of a 14-15” and 13-14” laptop. The target mass production schedules for panels and assembly are 4Q25 and 1H26,respectively. This product is expected to use M5 series processors. To solve the crease problem, the panel and bearings need to be highly matched. Currently, only LGD and Amphenol are the exclusive developers of panels and bearings respectively. It is currently estimated that the cost of panels and bearings is about USD600-650 and USD200-250 respectively. If the yield rate is significantly improved during mass production, the cost is expected to be reduced further. Since the product positioning of the foldable MacBook is more clear, the shipment volume should be significantly higher than that of the Vision Pro. It is estimated that the shipment volume will reach more than 1M units in 2026. (GSM Arena, Medium, Twitter)

According to Haitong Securities analyst Jeff Pu, Apple’s tentatively-named iPhone 17 Slim, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with a 24Mp front camera with 6 plastic lens elements. By comparison, all iPhone 15 models are equipped with a 12Mp front camera with five plastic lens elements. With a higher 24Mp resolution, photos can maintain their quality even when cropped to a greater degree, providing more flexibility in post-processing. A 6-piece lens would also slightly enhance image quality, as each element is designed to correct for various aberrations and distortions, leading to clearer, more accurate photos. (Android Headlines, MacRumors, Mr Mad)

OmniVision has announced its latest 50Mp OV50M40 sensor, intended for use in main, ultra-wide, telephoto, or front-facing smartphone cameras. The 0.61µm pixel CMOS image sensor comes in a 1/2.88-inch optical format and features 4-cell binning, video HDR, and always-on function for motion detection and ultra-low power. It supports staggered HDR and single exposure dual analog gain (DAG) HDR technology, phase detection autofocus (PDAF) for both binned and full resolution modes. It offers high-quality tele-crop zoom with 2x or 3x options. (GSM Arena, OmniVision)

LG Innotek will be the sole supplier of folded zoom modules for Apple’s initial stock of iPhone 16 launching later in 2024. Folded zoom bends light into prisms and sends them to the image sensor. It is a periscope-like telephoto camera module. Apple will apply the technology to two models in the iPhone 16 series, namely iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max. LG Innotek is expected to supply the module for the initial stock of the phones Apple manufacture, which will be over half of the iPhones it produces by the end of 2024. Around 4Q24, once the initial stock runts out, Apple is expected to use its secondary vendors Foxconn and Cowell to manufacture folded zoom as well to drive down costs. Meanwhile, Sharp is expected to supply no camera modules for any new iPhones launching the year. LG Innotek and Jawha Electronics will be supplying the OIS actuator used with the folded zoom modules.(GSM Arena, The Elec)

Neuralink has published an update on the second patient in its early human trials, and it said that “promisingly”, it has “observed no thread retraction” in the participant. The company implants a chip into the human brain, allowing paralyzed patients to control devices, browse the internet and play video games with their thoughts. Neuralink say it’s now working on making its chip capable of decoding multiple clicks and movements to “deliver full mouse and video game controller functionality”. It is also developing algorithms that can recognize a user’s intent to write by hand, which would enable faster text entry. (Engadget, Neuralink, Twitter)

OnePlus could be readying magnetic accessories to wirelessly deliver power. The smartphone maker is rumoured to be developing cases with magnets to bypass Apple’s MagSafe patents. OnePlus, OPPO, and realme are reportedly attempting to circumvent these barricades. The Ouga group, the parent company behind OnePlus, OPPO, and realme has allegedly started developing an ecosystem of phone accessories with magnets. (Android Headlines, Twitter, Sina, QQ, My Drivers)

Apple and Samsung continued to dominate the top-10 best-selling smartphones list in 2Q24, together capturing nine spots, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung gave up one spot to Xiaomi, which made a comeback to the list after two consecutive quarters of Apple and Samsung’s dominance. Apple retained the number of spots on the list with its four iPhone models. However, the placement of iPhones on the list weakened. While the iPhone 14 series and iPhone 13 had captured all the top four spots in 2Q23, the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro took the top three spots respectively in 2Q24. The iPhone 14 could only manage the sixth spot. (CN Beta, Counterpoint Research)

Global smartphone shipments grew 8% YoY in 2Q24, according to Counterpoint Research. Global smartphone revenues also grew by 8% YoY in 2Q24. Apple led the smartphone market revenues with a 42% share. Samsung’s revenues grew 5% YoY, due to growth in its ASP as well as shipments. Among the top five OEMs, Xiaomi’s revenue growth was the fastest in a second consecutive quarter as it maintained a strong performance in its key markets. The >USD800 segment continued to increase its share, growing YoY by 2pp, while taking share from sub-USD400 segments. (CN Beta, Counterpoint Research)

Samsung Electronics has announced the availability of Circle to Search with Google for select Galaxy A series (A55, A54, A35, and A34, but not yet on entry-level models like the A15 or A25). Following Circle to Search’s availability on the selected Galaxy A series, the innovative search experience will also come to Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 FE+, where large displays and Galaxy S Pen bring a new dimension to discovery. (Android Central, Samsung)

Xiaomi’s flagship device, which is codenamed “Zhuque”, allegedly will have no physical buttons. Zhuque could use a combination of gesture controls, pressure-sensitive edges, or even voice commands. Another standout feature on Zhuque is the under-display selfie camera. Zhuque is expected to be powered by the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 4 processor, codenamed SM8775. The phone may be launched in 1H25. (Smartprix, Twitter, Android Headlines, Sina)

Apple is allegedly producing around 90.1M iPhones in the iPhone 16 generation. Divided by model, the main iPhone 16 should consist of 24.5M units, the Plus at 5.8M, the Pro at 26.6M, and the Pro Max at 33.2M. As a percentage, the iPhone 16 will have a 27% share of shipments, the Pro Max gets 37%, the Pro hits 30%, and the iPhone 16 Plus just 6% of the total. This should mean the Pro models will make up 67% of total production. (GSM Arena, The Elec, Apple Insiders)

Worldwide tablet shipments recorded YoY growth of 22.1% in 2Q24, totalling 34.4M units, according to IDC. The results benefited from a favourable comparison to the prior year’s quarter and were driven by product refreshes from many top vendors and a replacement cycle combined with inventory replenishment. However, volumes are comparable only to pre-pandemic shipment levels and not to the unprecedented sales witnessed during the pandemic. The 2Q24 results compare favourably with 2Q19 when 32.5M units were shipped, aided by a product refresh from Apple and the growing popularity of detachable tablets from Samsung and Huawei. (GSM Arena, IDC)

Inspired by the Apple Vision Pro, Meta started work on a premium mixed-reality (MR) headset in Nov 2023. The device, internally codenamed La Jolla, was scheduled for a 2027 launch. It was going to contain ultrahigh-resolution screens known as MicroLEDs. Meta has allegedly cancelled plans for a premium MR headset. Meta’s Reality Labs division, responsible for developing and marketing the Quest line of headsets, has incurred billions in losses. Still, CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains optimistic about the future of augmented and virtual reality technologies. The existing line of Quest headsets include the Quest 2, which retails for $200, and the Quest 3 for USD500. Meta had stopped production of the Quest Pro — its most expensive headset priced at USD999 — in 2023 after encountering weak sales and poor reviews. (Android Authority, The Information, Reuters, Patently Apple)

Snap and Meta are both ready to show off new AR-powered smart glasses in Sept 2024. Both glasses will be produced in small quantities are not necessarily aimed at everyday consumers just yet. The first reveal will come from Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, with its the fifth-generation Spectacles. ark Zuckerberg is reportedly preparing to showcase Meta’s first AR glasses, codenamed Orion afterwards.(Android Headlines, Android Authority, The Verge)

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has been hit with a class-action lawsuit in California federal court by three authors who say it misused their books and hundreds of thousands of others to train its AI-powered chatbot Claude. The complaint by writers and journalists Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson, said that Anthropic used pirated versions of their works and others to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. (Android Headlines, Reuters)